NW/SO answer to low manipulation

[OrneryAuburn]

Hello! I hear a lot about low manipulation to protect hair. But in reading about NW/SO it seems to me that scritching and preening is a high manipulation activity. You are handling your hair a lot. And yet, I do not think SOers would continue to do so if it caused significant hair loss or damage.

Does the massage aspect strengthen the scalp and the hair? Or is the loss by manipulation small and manageable? Or are hairs only lost if they are weak or ready to shed in the first place? Does the natural sebum strengthen the shaft so it can withstand manipulation? Are certain types of hair more tolerant to handling? Is manipulation something the hair can adjust to and compensate for if you do it regularly?

If there is a thread on this topic, let me know! I am quite curious about these seemingly at odds concepts.

[lithostoic]

Nw/so was a fail for my hair (straight, medium thickness, medium density) as the manipulation caused my hair to fall out. Also the boar bristle brush shredded my hair causing breakage. It's now being used as a cat brush!

[Ophidian]

Hi and welcome!

You might find this thread answers some of your questions:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=144

Like any method, results vary widely and the best way to find out what works for you is to try it. I think in an ideal scenario, the hair lost during scritching, massage, and preening is what you'd expect to lose over the course of a day anyway. Some scalps handle that kind of manipulation better than others. If you've never done scalp massage before, there may be an adjustment period. Even among people that use methods like SO/NW or WO, SMP techniques and frequency seems to vary quite a bit to compensate for individual preferences. I'm not SO/NW so people in the official thread (link above) may have more specific feedback, but I was WO for several months and still incorporate SMPing into my routine.

[proo]

While not strictly SO ( I rinse once per month) I adhere to this method-
For myself the transition period when I rid my hair of product and got used to my sebum, both gradual processes, was when I employed the most manipulation.
As time went by less manipulation was necessary and now several years later, I comb a couple of times a day and do a decent massage when I feel like it.
This is a fairly common progression, according to the thread.

[Candyapple]

Somtimes I'm SO, sometimes I'm WO. I stopped using BBB because I felt like it was doing more harm than good. I find that my hair is stronger w SO or WO method and do not think massaging makes my hair fall out.